In “Seinfeld,” George has his “friends” world and his “fiancée” world, and lives in fear of these worlds colliding.
The formerly separate worlds of SEO and PPC are now colliding.
The difference: The SEO and PPC collision is a huge opportunity for increasing online lead generation.
Google Ads Look More and More Like Organic Results
The key part of this collision: Google has changed the format and layout of ads and SERPs (search engine results pages) to make paid ads and organic results look quite similar. Ads no longer scream, “This is an ad!”
To illustrate, look at this SERP for the search “mailing tube companies Chicago”. Other than the subtle green “Ad” square, organic results look virtually identical to the untrained eye — that is, the eye of your typical sales prospect.
Companies that shy away from PPC ads because they believe business does not lend itself to ad campaigns, or companies that shy away from PPC because it has failed in the past should now take a second look:
Customers who may turn up their nose at a PPC ad that looks like a carnival sign may have no qualms at all about clicking on an ad formatted like what you see above.
Past experience with PPC — low click-through rates, poor conversion rates — may not be a useful predictor of what a new PPC campaign will achieve.
For PPC and SEO, a Collision Is Never a Wreck
This formatting change is not getting nearly the attention it deserves, and is a big reason to reconsider PPC. There are other reasons why SEO and PPC work well together:
- PPC enables you to cover long-tail keywords beyond the scope of your SEO campaign.
- PPC enables you to easily target branded keywords, preventing unsavory competitors from capturing your online leads by targeting your brand in their PPC campaigns. (This, by the way, is a bad strategy, but companies do it.)
- PPC allows you to test calls to action and offers, which can then be incorporated into on-site and off-site SEO campaigns to improve lead generation.
Want to discuss a combined SEO and PPC plan of attack for lead generation? Please contact us now to share your ideas and learn more about proven strategies and tactics in businesses similar to yours.